Pepperdine Caruso Law Students Participate in Fifth Annual Faith and Justice Spring Break Trip to Montgomery, Alabama

Over spring break in March, professors Tanya Cooper and Stephanie Williams led Pepperdine Caruso Law students on the Fifth Annual Faith and Justice spring break trip to Montgomery, Alabama. Sponsored by the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion and Ethics, a highlight of the trip was a visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice as well as the Legacy Museum, which were conceived by attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and author of the book Just Mercy.

The National Memorial and its companion sites are dedicated to honoring victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States and provided students with an opportunity to reflect upon faith, justice, law, history and memory. Following the visit to the memorial, students engaged in a private discussion with EJI staff attorney Tatiana Bertsch. "This trip reaffirmed my commitment to using my law degree as a tool of justice,” said first-year student Kierstyn Cohen. “ The EJI legacy sites tell a story every American should be aware of, and particularly future lawyers."

The trip also featured a walking tour of historic sites in downtown Montgomery led by former Caruso Law professor Jeff Baker, who is now a law professor and associate dean of experiential learning at the University of Alabama School of Law. First-year student Sam Baron said, "This trip was a really incredible way to expose myself to culture and history that I never really learned about in school. I met so many great people who had different experiences but shared values."

"We were blessed with a group of wonderfully open students who genuinely wanted to learn, and the incredible Legacy Cites gave us all so much to consider,” said Professor Williams. “We returned full of hope for positive change, sorrow for the past, and immense respect for everyone working for justice.”

Finally, Professor Cooper reflected, “For all faith and justice activists, this is the trip of a lifetime.”